Manasa

Hindu - A snake-goddess. An aspect of Parvati. Sister of Ananta. Daughter of Kasyapa and Kadru. Daughter of Shiva, some say. When Shiva sucked up the venom which Ananta, or Vasuki, used to poison the amrita created at the Churning of the Ocean, Manasa helped him by taking some of the poison in her own mouth and passing it on to the venomous creatures of the earth. When the merchant Chand refused to worship her, she appeared in the form of a lovely maiden and married him. She then destroyed his livelihood and reverted to her snake form, biting all of his six sons who died. He had another son, Lakshmindra, who married Behula and Chand tried to protect them by building a steel house. Manasa slipped into the house on the night of Lakshmindra's wedding and killed him but she restored him to life when Chand agreed to worship her. She is said to have the power to cure illness caused by poison from snake-bites, etc. and is depicted in the company of a snake with seven heads. Sometimes identified as Manasa, Manassa, Manassa, Parvati, Parvati, Adrija, Ahladini-Sadini, Aja, Amba, Ambi(ka), Anna-Purna, Bhadrakali, Bhavani, Bhutamata, Devi, Durga, Gauri, Girija, Haima(va)ti, Kali, Kamakshi, Kumari, Mahadevi, Mangata, Mhalsa, Raudri, Sati, Shakti, Snow Queen, Tripura, Uma, Vijaya, Vindhya-Vasini, Balinese Parwati, Prawati, Cambodian Lady Po Nagar, Vishadhari, Vishadhari, Jain Nagini or Jain Nagini.